New Delhi, December 27 (IANS). Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have developed a shockwave-based needle-free syringe. Which delivers painless and safe medicine to the body while causing less damage to the skin.
Shock syringes can help people who are nervous about needles. Many people avoid vaccinations and other medical treatments because of fear. It may also be beneficial for patients who have diabetes and require frequent insulin injections.
The team from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IIT Bombay explained that unlike a syringe with a needle, the shock syringe does not prick the skin. Instead, it uses high-energy pressure waves (shock waves) that travel through the skin at speeds faster than the speed of sound.
The team has published the study in the Journal of Biomedical Materials and Devices.
University researcher and lead author Priyanka Hankare said that the shock syringe is designed to deliver the drug rapidly. If a regular syringe is inserted too quickly or with excessive force, it may cause unnecessary trauma to the skin or underlying tissues.
They further stated that to minimize tissue damage and ensure consistent and accurate drug delivery, the pressure in the shock syringe is continuously monitored and “rigorous testing on tissue simulants (such as synthetic skin) has been conducted to determine the force of jet insertion and Helps calibrate the speed, ensuring safety and comfort.
Additionally, the researchers kept the nozzle design down to just 125 microns (about the width of a human hair).
Hankare explains that it sure is okay for reducing pain.
To test how efficiently the shock syringe delivers the drug, researchers conducted three separate tests in which they injected three different types of drugs into mice.
They measured drug levels in blood and tissues to monitor drug distribution and absorption in the body using the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method.
When an anesthetic (ketamine-xylazine) was injected through the skin of rats for tests, shock syringes achieved the same effect as needles. In both cases the anesthetic effect began three to five minutes after injection and lasted for 20–30 minutes.
This proves the suitability of the shock syringe for drugs that require slow and sustained release. Shock syringes performed better than regular needles for viscous drug formulations such as antifungals (terbinafine).
Rat skin samples showed that the shock syringe deposited terbinafine deeper into the skin layers than needle delivery. When diabetic rats were given insulin, researchers found that blood sugar levels were effectively reduced and remained at lower levels for longer periods of time using a shock syringe compared to a needle.
Furthermore, tissue analysis showed that the shock syringe caused less damage to the rat’s skin than the syringe alone. Because shock syringes cause less swelling, they allow the wound at the injection site to heal much faster.
The development of the shock syringe promises much more than painless injections.
Hankare further said that the shock syringe is designed for multiple drug delivery shots (e.g., testing more than 1,000 shots), which is reliable and also has a low cost.
–IANS
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